"  Mens  Sana  in  Corpore  Sano/: 

— — 

•     J    w  V. 


BINGHAM 
^SCHOOL 


&£&&£&&£&&££3€33€€€€3€€€ 


Established  in  1793. 


1793^ 

**  1897 


MENS  SANA  IN  CORPORE  SANO' 


Established  in"  izaa 


AsHEMLLE.  N.C. 
GROUND  PLAN  OF  BUILDINGS. 


As. seen  and  reported  by 
F*  B*  Arendell,  Staff  Correspondent 

of  "The  News  and  Observer," 
Raleigh,  N.  C. 


BINGHAM  HEIGHTS. 

One  of  the  Chief  Attractions  in  North  Carolina's 
Beautiful  Cloudland* 

jk  jt,  ji 

THE  FAMOUS  BINGHAM  SCHOOL. 

One  of  America's  Leading  Institutions  of  Physical, 
Moral  and  Intellectual  Culture* 

t£r*       tgr*       f^r* 

ITS   UNEQUALLED    EQUIPMENT, 

Its  Past  Great  Work,  Its  Present  Excellence,  and 
Its  Bright  and  Glorious  Future* 

*2s*      w*     *2?* 

MAJOR  BINGHAM,  ITS  ABLE  AND  PROGRESSIVE  BUILDER 
AND  SUPERINTENDENT. 

€^*      ^y^      *2r* 

ASHEVH.I.E,  N.  C,  April  28. 

I  asked  a  prominent  Asheville  gentleman  some  days  ago  what  were 
the  three  leading  attractions  at  Asheville.  "The  Battery  Park  Hotel, 
the  Vanderbilt  Estate  and  Bingham  School,"  he  replied,  without 
hesitation. 

I  knew  that  as  to  the  two  former  the  gentleman  was  correct,  and 
made  up  my  mind  that  I  would  verify  his  statement  as  to  the  latter. 
So  I  went  to  the  corner  of  Patton  Avenue  and  Haywood  Street,  and 
seeing  a  new  electric  car,  having  on  each  side  "  Bingham  Heights,"  I 
reached  for  a  nickel  and  got  aboard.  In  a  few  minutes  I  was  winding 
around  the  magnificent  homes  between  Patton  Avenue  and  the  French 
Broad  River.  A  few  moments  more  and  we  were  crossing  the  smiling 
river,  at  the  foot  of  Bingham  Heights.  Proceeding,  after  a  moment's 
gaze  at  the  beautiful  stream,  I  began  a  gradual  ascent  over  a  beauti- 
fully graded  pathway,  leading  up  beside  a  babbling  brook,  along  by 
bubbling  springs,  blooming  clover,  laurel  and  jessamine,  up  the  slopes 
of  a  magnificent  hill,  then  on  through  a  budding  forest  of  native  oaks 
and  chestnut  and  maple,  until  I  was  on  the  summit  of  Bingham 
Heights,  and  there  was  spread  out  before  me  one  of  the  newest  and 
most  attractive  and. complete  school  plants  in  America,  a  grand  school 
city,  built  of  brick,  on  both  sides  of  a  delightfully-shaded,  grass-covered 
esplanade,  into  which  open  the  doors  of  dormitories,  class-rooms  and 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  hall,  with  gymnasium  hall  and  chapel  near  by,  all  in  most 
perfect  detail,  and  most  systematic  and  convenient  and  charming 
arrangement,  a  beautiful  little  city  of  barracks,  built  upon  a  commo- 
dious hill,  shaded  by  maples  and  oaks  that  nature  planted,  sweetened 
with  the  perfume  of  wild  flowers  that  grow  here  as  naturally  as  cedars 
grow  in  Lebanon,  fanned  by  winds  that  are  never  ceasing  and  never 
boisterous,  and  smiled  upon  by  the  broad  panorama  of  mountain 
grandeur  on  every  side,  by  a  blue  azure  sky  above,  and  by  a  winding, 
whispering,  laughing  river  below. 


Bingham  Heights  is  naturally  one  of  the  grandest  spots  in  the 
grandest  country  in  the  world,  and  Bingham  School  is  to-day,  in 
location,  modern  equipment,  in  perfect  arrangement,  in  sanitary  ex- 
cellence, in  complete  detail,  and  in  superb  management,  one  of  the 
best,  if  not  the  best,  school  plants  in  the  United  States. 

Let  no  one  be  incredulous  here — for  I  shall  verify  this  statement 
directly  with  the  voluntary  opinions  of  men  whose  rank  as  statesmen, 
educators,  army  officers,  physicians  and  business  men,  entitles  them 
to  speak — and  when  I  had  scanned  Bingham  Heights  and  had  gone 
through  every  department  of  Bingham  School,  I  was  prepared  to 
declare  that  the  gentleman  quoted  was  correct  in  his  statement,  ex- 
cept I  should,  in  naming  Asheville's  three  leading  institutions,  put 
Bingham  School  first. 

Anyone  who  inspects  the  new  Bingham  School  as  I  have  done, 
must  be  convinced  as  I  have  been. 

A  brief  history  of  this  famous  institution,  which  the  United  States 
Government's  Bureau  of  Education  says  "is  pre-eminent  among 
Southern  schools  for  boys,"  is  proper  in  this  place. 

ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY. 

The  Bingham  School  was  established  in  1793  by  the  grandfather  of 
the  present  Superintendent,  Rev.  William  Bingham,  who  died  in  1825, 
after  having  taught  first  in  Wilmington,  then  in  Pittsboro,  then  in 
the  State  University  as  Professor  of  Latin  for  five  years,  which  position 
he  resigned  to  return  to  the  private  school  work,  which  he  continued 
at  his  country  home,  in  Orange  County,  till  his  death.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  eldest  son,  the  late  W.  J.  Bingham,  who,  as  principal  of 
the  Hillsboro  Academy,  achieved  a  reputation  unsurpassed  by  any  of 
his  contemporaries  in  other  professions,  and  unequalled  by  any  other 
teacher  in  the  South.  In  1844  he  moved  the  School  to  Oaks,  twelve 
miles  southwest  of  Hillsboro,  where  he  taught  with  unabated  success 
till  his  health  failed  in  1864,  his  sons,  William  and  Robert,  being 
associated  with  him  after  1857.  It  being  difficult  during  the  Civil  War 
to  get  supplies  so  far  from  a  railroad,  in  the  hands  of  the  late  Col. 
William  Bingham  the  School  was  moved  again  during  the  winter  of 
1864-65  to  the  nearest  point  on  the  railroad,  three-fourths  of  a  mile 
from  Mebane  station  (and  still  in  Orange  County),  where  it  remained 
till  1891.  But  up  to  that  time,  when  a  second  disastrous  fire  in  nine 
years  drove  it  from  its  wooden  buildings  in  middle  North  Carolina, 
Bingham's  lacked  an  ideal  situation  and  ideal  comfort,  safety,  con- 
venience, ventilation  and  sanitation  in  its  buildings.  In  the  unani- 
mous and  pronounced  judgment  of  more  than  fifty  physicians  who 
have  inspected  it,  and  of  hundreds  of  others  from  all  parts  of  the 
Union,  in  the  New  Bingham  School  at  Asheville  the  ideal  situation 
has  been  secured,  and  the  ideal  comfort,  safety,  convenience,  venti- 
lation and  sanitation  have  been  attained. 

"In  the  buildings,"  says  the  Atlanta  Illustrator  for  April,  "with 
accomodations  for  120  pupils,  two  in  a  room  and  one  in  abed,  econo- 
my and  mere  show  are  subordinated  to  health,  comfort,  safety  and 
utility.  They  are  on  the  so-called  'cottage  plan.'  the  ground  plan  of 
the  University  of  Virginia  and  the  plan  adopted  of  late  years  by  all 
civilized  governments  on  sanitary  gronnds  for  barracks  and  hospitals. 
The  dormitories  are  in  eight  sections  and  are  placed  on  both  sides  of 
a  street  seventy-five  feet  wide.  Dampness  is  prevented  by  a  course  of 
slate  and  cement  under  every  floor,  and  the  sun  shines  into  every 
room  at  some  time  during  the  day.  But  the  most  distinctive  feature 
is  that  a  class-room,  with  quarters  for  a  teacher  behind  it,  is  placed  in 
the  center  of  each  of  the  eight  ranges,  so  that  the  teacher  is  ubiqui- 
tous, and  combinations  for  disorder  in  study  hours  are  next  to  impos- 


sible.  Every  detail  for  the  convenience  and  comfort  of  the  pupils 
has  been  carefnlly  provided,  and  one  rarely  finds  a  more  comfortable 
spring-bed,  or  a  neater  and  more  airy  and  better-heated  room  in  any 
first-class  hotel." 

I  was  prepared  for  the  growing  fame  of  Asheville  by  reflecting 
how  mauy  people  it  attracts  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  by  the 
prominence  of  the  large  majority  of  its  one  hundred  thousand  yearly 
visitors.  I  was  prepared  to  find  a  fine  location  for  the  School,  I 
confess  that  I  was  not  prepared  to  find  so  magnificent  a  school  plant 
in  North  Carolina,  or  anywhere  else;  not  magnificent  in  appearance — 
that  cannot  be  said  of  it  all,  for  mere  show  has  been  entirely  subor- 
dinated to  utility.  But  for  convenience,  for  comfort,  for  discipline, 
for  instruction,  for  safety,  for  health,  and  for  sanitation,  magnificent 
is  the  word.  The  form  of  the  buildings  has  been  given  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Illustrator.  The  gymnasium  is  a  model  of  its  kind. 
There  are  beautiful  tennis-courts.  The  play-ground  is  excellent. 
Athletics,  under  proper  restrictions,  are  encouraged  and  provided  for. 
The  quarters,  with  their  single  spring-beds,  compare  favorably  in 
every  way  with  the  quarters  and  bed  that  I  had  at  the  Battery  Park 
Hotel.  The  arrangements  for  necessities  are  by  far  the  best  that  I 
have  ever  seen  in  any  public  institution,  and,  in  the  language  of  the 
Illustrator  again,  "are  Northern  rather  than  Southern,  European 
rather  than  American,  in  their  sanitary  completeness  and  common 
sense,  and  they  impress  every  one  who  inspects  them  as  being  un- 
equalled in  excellence." 

CULINARY  DEPARTMENT. 

But  as  much  as  I  was  impressed  and  astonished,  to  tell  the  truth, 
with  everything  else,  having  a  weakness  for  creature  comforts,  and 
being  a  pretty  fair  judge  of  the  same,  I  confess  that  the  arrangements 
for  feeding  the  boys,  and  the  way  they  are  fed,  impressed  me  more,  I 
believe,  than  anything  else.  The  table,  the  tableware,  the  labor-sav- 
ing appliances  in  the  dining-room  and  kitchen,  the  absolute  decorum 
of  the  boys  at  meals,  but  especially  the  excellent  quality  of  food,  its 
abundance,  and  the  excellent  quality  of  the  cooking,  deserve  the  high- 
est praise.     I  travel  a  great  deal,  and  so  I  can  make  a  just  comparison. 

From  the  appearance  of  everything  connected  with  the  culinary 
department,  and  the  well-laden  tables  of  rich,  tempting  and  well-pre- 
pared food,  there  are  few  hotels  in  the  State  that  equal  it,  and  none 
that  surpass  it.  No  wonder  that  all  the  boys  say  that  Bingham  fare 
is  the  best  they  ever  saw  at  a  boarding-school,  and  that  their  average 
gain  in  weight  last  year  was  nineteen  (19)  pounds. 

VICE-PRESIDENT  STEVENSON  SPEAKS. 

But  lest  some  of  my  readers  should  think  that  I  have  overstated 
the  case,  I  will  give  the  opinions  of  others,  whose  political,  official, 
scientific  and  social  prominence  must  carry  conviction  to  the  most 
incredulous,  beginning  with  Vice-President  Stevenson,  North  Caro- 
lina's favorite  in  public  life,  and  ending  with  the  opinion  of  Col.  J.  S. 
Carr,  of  Durham,  the  great  leader  of  the  State's  industrial  develop- 
ment. On  his  return  to  Washington  from  Asheville  in  March,  1894, 
in  a  private  letter  to  Josephus  Daniels,  published  by  permission  in  the 
North  Carolinian  of  March  20,  1894,  the  original  copy  of  which  I  saw 
framed  in  Major  Bingham's  office,  the  VICE-PRESIDENT  says: 

"It  was  my  good  fortune,  a  few  days  ago,  to  visit  the  Bingham 
School,  at  Asheville,  North  Carolina. 

"It  is  impossible  to  speak  too  highly  of  this  celebrated  institution. 
Its  location,  buildings,  sanitation  and  water  supply  are  all  that  could 
be  desired.    It  would  indeed  be  difficult  to  find  a  school  whose  location 


possesses  equal  natural  advantages.  The  corps  of  teachers,  moreover, 
is  excellent.  Under  Major  Bingham,  its  present  efficient  Superinten- 
dent, this  historic  School  has  more  than  sustained  its  well-earned 
reputation. 

"I  take  pleasure  in  commending  it  most  earnestly." 
This  is  high  praise  from  a  high  source,  and  every  word  of  it  is 
deserved. 

OPINIONS  OF  ARMY  OFFICERS. 

There  is  no  equivocation  in  the  following  from  Maj.  Charles  L. 
Davis,  U.  S.  Army,  Professor  of  Military  Science  and  Tactics.  Major 
Davis  found  here  a  school  surpassing  all  others  in  the  United  States, 
and  he  said  so,  straight  from  the  shoulder,  under  date  of  March  4th, 
1894.     He  says: 

"It  affords  me  great  pleasure  to  say  that  I  regard  Bingham  School 
as  the  best  institution  of  its  kind  in  the  United  States,  possessing  as 
it  does  a  superbly  healthful  location, 'easy  of  access,  in  the  geograph- 
ical center  of  the  region  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  best  facilities 
for  developing  the  physical,  mental,  moral  and  manly  qualities  of  its 
students,  among  whom  I  deem  myself  fortunate  to  include  my  son." 

Lieutenant  Jos.  B.  Batchelor,  of  the  United  States  Army,  a  North 
Carolinian  who  takes  special  pride  in  the  advancement  of  his  State 
and  its  interests,  says:  "  Eingham's  School  combines  more  desirable 
qualities  than  any  other  with  which  I  am  acquainted." 

Capt.  Henry  Wygant,  U.  S.  Army,  Professor  of  Military  Science 
and  Tactics,  says:  "There  isn't  the  equal  of  Bingham  School,  in  my 
opinion." 

Lieutenant  J.  B.  Hughes,  United  States  Army,  says:  "I  cordially 
recommend  Bingham's  as  the  best  school  for  boys  in  my  knowledge." 

Lieutenant  John  Little,  United  States  Army,  says:  "The  Bingham 
School  possesses  more  attractive  features  and  offers  better  opportuni- 
ties for  the  mental  and  physical  development  of  boys  than  any  similar 
institution  known  tome;" 

"Best"  is  a  great  big,  broad  word,  and  when  used  honestly  and 
advisedly  it  means  a  great  deal.  In  this  connection  the  word  is  used 
advisedly,  and  it  simply  means,  in  the  language  of  Major  Davis,  Cap- 
tain Wygant,  and  Lieutenants  Batchelor,  Hughes  and  Little,  all  of 
the  U.  S.  Army,  who  have  been  detailed  as  Military  Professors  in  the 
School,  that  there  is  no  equal  to  Bingham  School  to  day  in  America, 
and  perhaps  nowhere  else. 

PHYSICIANS  ISPEAK. 

As  to  the  sanitary  excellence  and  general  healthfulness  of  an  insti- 
tution, there  are  none  so  capable  of  speaking  as  those  physicians 
whose  scientific  study  and  practical  observation  fully  equip  them  for 
expressing  accurate  and  valuable  opinions. 

Dr.  S.  C.  McGilvra,  of  West  Superior,  Wisconsin,  after  a  careful 
and  critical  inspection  of  the  School  in  April,  1894,  said:  "The  loca- 
tion, the  quarters,  the  class-rooms,  the  gymnasium,  the  equipment 
and  service  of  the  mess-hall  and  kitchen,  the  ventilation,  the  drain- 
age, the  sanitation,  are  much  the  best  that  I  have  ever  seen  anywhere, 
North  or  South,  and  must  appeal  very  strongly  to  the  smaller  but 
higher  class  of  parents  who  are  satisfied  with  only  the  best  for  their 
sons." 

Dr.  McGilvra  did  not  stop  at  "best,"  but  went  further  and  said 
"  much  the  best,"  and  he  struck  the  keynote  when  he  said  that  the 
School  appealed  strongly  to  that  higher  class  of  parents  who  would 
be  satisfied  only  with  the  "  best  "  for  their  sons. 


6 

Dr.  P.  L.  Murphy,  Superintendent  of  the  State  Hospital  at  Mor- 
ganton,  and  one  of  the  most  eminent  specialists  in  the  South,  says: 
"It  was  gratifying  to  me,  a  former  pupil  of  this  famous  School,  to 
find  it  fully  abreast  of  the  times  in  every  respect.  The  reputation  of 
the  School  under  its  present  management  for  thoroughness,  in  every 
detail,  of  moral,  physical  and  intellectual  culture  is  at  least  up  to  the 
highest  standard  of  its  past,  if  not  above  it." 

Dr.  Karl  von  Ruck,  member  of  American  Health  Association,  and 
Medical  Director  of  Winyah  Sanitarium,  Asheville,  N.  C,  saj7s:  "I 
find  that  its  sanitary  appointments  are  exceptionally  perfect  and  much 
better  than  I  have  ever  found  before  in  the  numerous  public  institu- 
tions I  have  heretofore  examined.  I  have  not  one  single  suggestion 
to  make;  on  the  contrary,  I  commend  its  appointments  as  a  standard 
worth  the  study  and  imitation  of  every  similar  institution  in  the  land." 

Dr.  F.  V.  Van  Artsdalen,  of  Philadelphia,  says:  "The  most  dis- 
tinguished of  all  the  educational  institutions  of  North  Carolina  is 
Bingham  School.  For  sanitation  and  the  principles  of  hygiene,  I 
look  upon  it  as  not  being  surpassed  by  any  similar  or  other  institution 
in  the  world." 

Dr.  J.  C.  Brwin,  of  McKinney,  Tex.,  says:  "I  have  no  hesitation 
in  saying,  after  a  careful  examination  of  the  sanitary  conditions  of 
Bingham  School,  that  they  are  perfect  in  every  detail  and  superb  in 
their  completeness.  *  *  *  Supeiior  to  anything  I  have  ever  seen 
before." 

Drs.  S.  Westray  Battle,  Jno.  Hey  Williams,  Jas.  A.  Burroughs, 
William  D.  Hilliard,  representing  the  Medical  Faculty  of  Asheville, 
after  visiting  and  inspecting  the  School  in  a  body,  said: 

"We  have  carefully  examined  the  new  school  buildings  on  Bing- 
ham Heights,  just  without  the  city  limits  of  Asheville,  and  take  pleas- 
ure in  bearing  testimony  as  follows: 

"I.  The  location,  in  natural  advantages,  leaves  nothing  to  be 
desired. 

"  II.  The  buildings  exceptionally  fill  the  requirements. 

"III.  The  sanitation  is  as  perfect  as  scientific  modern  plumbing 
can  make  it. 

"  IV.  The  water-supply  is  abundant,  the  water  of  the  purest,  care- 
fully collected  from  mountain  springs,  and  without  a  chance  of  con- 
tamination. 

"  V.  The  all-the-year- round  climate  of  Asheville  is  world- renowned, 
and  with  the  School's  exceptionally  excellent  equipment  and  sanita- 
tion, gives  Bingham's  special  advantages  not  enjoyed  by  another 
school  in  America." 

officialsendorsement  of  theiexecutive  iand  ijudi- 
:ciary:of  the  state  of  north  Carolina.! 

Gov.  Elias  Carr,  after  visiting  Bingham  School,  wrote  as  follows: 
"  I  am  pleased  to  add  m}'  testimonial  to  the  superior  advantages  of 
the  renowned  Bingham  School,  now  located  near  Asheville,  N.  C.  I 
was  a  student  at  Bingham  School  when  it  was  sitnated  at  Oaks,  Orange 
County,  in  1854.  It  was  then  the  leading  school  in  the  State,  and  it 
has  ever  since  been  successfully  managed  and  has  enjoyed  this  repu- 
tation. After  a  careful  personal  inspection  of  the  present  location, 
and  the  sanitary  arrangements  made  recently,  I  am  impressed  with 
the  great  improvement  over  the  old  plan  of  buildings  used  in  my 
school  days;  and  I  have  no  hesitancy  in  pronouncing  the  location 
most  desirable,  the  buildings  excellent,  the  sanitary  arrangements 
unequalled.  In  fact,  it  is  a  model  school  plant,  with  all  the  modern 
improvements.  For  three  generations,  extending  over  one  hundred 
years,  the  Binghams   have   been   distinguished    educators,  and    the 


School  founded  by  them  is  an  institution  of  which  any  State  should 
be  proud. 
Justice  A.  C.  Avery  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  North  Carolina,  says: 
"As  an  old  student  of  Bingham  School  when  under  the  manage- 
ment of  the  late  W.  J.  Bingham,  it  was  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to  see 
from  a  recent  inspection  of  the  work  that  my  classmate,  Maj.  Robert 
Bingham,  the  present  head  of  the  School,  is  not  simply  keeping  abreast 
of  the  times,  but  that,  like  his  father,  he  is  ahead  of  all  competitors 
in  thoroughness  of  instruction  and  discipline,  as  well  as  in  parental 
oversight  of  the  morals  and  care  for  the  health  of  his  pupils. 

"The  location  of  the  School  is  among  the  most  beautiful  in  the 
country,  commanding  a  combined  mountain  and  water  view  rarely  if 
ever  equalled.  The  drainage  is  excellent,  and  the  sanitary  arrange- 
ments are  as  nearly  perfect  as  it  is  possible,  by  the  utmost  skill  and  by 
lavish  expenditure   to  make  Ihem." 

OFFICAL  REPORT  OF  GEN.  CAMERON,  THE   HEAD  OF  THE 
MILITARY  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  STATE  GOVERNMENT. 

State  of  North  Carolina. 
Adjutant  General 's  Office, 

Raleigh,  April  24,  1896. 

Having  recently  visited  and  inspected  the  Bingham  School,  near 
Asheville,  it  affords  me  much  pleasure  to  testify  to  its  admirable  loca- 
tion, management  and  condition. 

Located  in  the  heart  of  the  health-giving  mountain  rogion  of 
North  Carolina,  its  natural  advantages  in  that  respect  are  doubly  en- 
hanced by  THE  MOST  THOROUGH  and  COMPETE  SANITARY 
SYSTEM  I  HAVE  EVER  SEEN.  It  is  but  simple  justice  to  say 
that  nothing  has  been  left  undone  that  could  contribute  to  cleanliness, 
health  and  comfort. 

In  my  opinion,  the  School  IS  SECOND  TO  NO  INSTITUTION 
OF  ITS  KIND  IN  THE  COUNTRY. 

(Signed)  FRANCIS  H.  CAMERON, 

Adjutant  General. 

The  influence  of  a  great  State  institution  is  seen  most  and  felt  most 
by  those  who  conduct  its  public  affairs,  and  the  endorsements  of 
Governor  Carr,  Judge  Avery  and  General  Cameron  is  evidence  of  the 
value  to  the  State  and  the  South  of  the  great  work  accomplished  by 
Bingham  School. 

EDUCATORS'  ENDORSEMENT. 

Dr.  Geo.  T.  Winston,  President  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
speaking  of  the  School  said: 

"The  Bingham  School  would  do  credit  to  any  State  in  the  Union. 
I  have  known  it  well  twenty  years,  by  personal  inspection  and  by  the 
work  of  its  pupils.  It  may  challenge  comparison  with  the  best  boys' 
schools  anywhere." 

Rev.  Dr.  T.  E.  Sampson,  who  has  travelled  in  Scotland,  Germany, 
Syria,  and  all  over  America,  says: 

"After  a  careful  examination  of  the  Bingham  School  in  its  new 
home  near  Asheville,  I  would  like  to  say  that  I  have  never  seen  any 
school  in  America,  or  out  of  it,  where  the  arrangements  for  the  physi- 
cal culture,  and  for  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  the  young  men, 
were  so  commodious  and  complete." 

Dr.  James  H.  Kirkland,  Chancellor  of  Vanderbilt  University,  says: 

"The  Bingham  School  has  for  many  years  been  justly  celebrated 
as  one  of  the  very  best  schools  in  the  whole  country.  The  good  work 
it  has  done  is  attested  by  the  records  of  the  students  it  has  sent  out 


into  life  or  to  pursue  higher  courses  at  the  leading  universities.  It 
was  recently  my  privilege  to  inspect  the  grounds  and  buildings  of 
this  famous  School,  and  I  can  cheerfully  say  that  every  detail  is  in 
perfect  accord  with  the  leading  idea  on  which  the  School  is  run.  In 
all  its  appointments  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a  school  in  the  South 
better  equipped  for  work." 

BUSINESS  MEN'S  ENDORSEMENT. 

Col.  Julian  S.  Carr,  one  of  the  acknowledged  heads  of  industrial 
development  of  North  Carolina,  and  one  of  the  best  friends  that  edu- 
cation has  in  all  this  Southland,  recently  visited  Bingham  Heights, 
and,  after  careful  inspection,  wrote  as  follows: 

"I  am  pleased  to  have  enjoyed  a  recent  opportunity  of  making  a 
trip  to  the  celebrated  Bingham  School,  and  of  going  carefully  over  the 
premises.  I  need  say  nothing  with  respect  to  the  curriculum,  for  the 
well  known  repute  of  the  institution  is  older  than  I.  But  of  the  loca- 
tion, sanitation,  etc.,  I  desire  to  speak  more  particularly.  It  is  beauti- 
ful as  to  location.  The  French  Broad  sweeps  past  the  base  of  a  bold 
cliff,  upon  which  the  institution  is  situated.  For  miles  down  the  val- 
ley towards  Paint  Rock  the  view  is  charming.  And  towards  the  south 
rise  Pisgah  and  the  Blue  Ridge;  towards  the  east  one  sees  the  Black 
Mountain,  the  late  home  of  Vance  and  the  burial  place  of  Mitchell. 
There  is  Vanderbilt's,  glittering  in  the  sheen  of  the  setting  sun.  How 
can  such  a  location,  enshrined  in  the  home  of  the  health-giving  ozone, 
be  otherwise  than  charmingly  delightful  and  remarkably  healthfui 
for  the  School.  From  the  way  the  land  lies  the  drainage  is  natural, 
and  nature  has  done  her  work  perfectly.  The  sewerage  is  most  per- 
fect and  complete,  and  the  ventilation  and  sanitation  of  the  buildings 
are  perfect.  Neither  expense  nor  pains  have  been  spared  to  make  the 
barracks  what  I  pronounce  the  most  perfect  living  rooms  I  ever  saw. 
Health  and  disciplinary  care  is  written  in  every  feature  of  the  institu- 
tion, and  those  in  search  of  the  best  need  go  no  further.  I  am  proud 
that  North  Carolina  can  boast  of  Bingham  and  Bingham  School." 

But  much  as  I  was  pleased  with  the  unequalled  excellence  of  the 
new  Bingham  in  every  respect,  and  proud  as  I  am,  like  Col.  J.  S.  Carr, 
that  North  Carolina  has  Bingham  and  Bingham  School,  perhaps  the 
thing  which  appealed  to  me  most  practically  is  the  very  high  standing 
which  the  School  has  established  for  itself  among  the  business  enter- 
prises and  among  the  business  men  of  Asheville. 

Speaking  of  Major  Bingham  and  Bingham  School,  Mr.  George  S. 
Powell,  of  Powell  &  Snyder,  leading  grocers  of  Asheville,  said: 

"Bingham  School  is  one  of  the  best  institutions  in  the  South, 
and  Major  Bingham,  the  Principal,  is  one  of  the  most  prompt  and 
reliable  gentlemen  in  his  business  dealings  with  whom  we  have  ever 
dealt." 

Mr.  G.  A.  Greer,  another  leading  grocer,  said: 

"  Major  Bingham  is  one  of  the  best  patrons  I  ever  had.  With  him 
it  is  a  pleasure  to  deal.  He  wants  nothing  but  the  best,  buys  the  best 
and  discounts  every  bill  he  buys  by  paying  cash.  He  manages  his 
great  institution  so  well,  and  on  such  strict  business  principles,  and 
he  draws  to  it  such  a  large  number  of  valuable  patrons,  that  he  is  at 
all  times  prepared  to  meet  every  business  obligation." 

Mr.  Bernard,  the  President  of  the  National  Bank  of  Asheville,  said: 

"  We  regard  Major  Bingham  as  one  of  the  most  valuable  individual 
factors  that  has  ever  been  attracted  to  Asheville.  He  is  a  man  of 
energy,  of  great  learning,  and  of  unquestionable  business  ability  and 
integrity.  His  School  here  is  a  great  success.  I  happen  to  know  that 
during  the  past  year  Major  Bingham  has,  from  the  resources  of  his 
School,  paid  off  six  thousand  ($6,000)  dollars  of  the  debt  incurred  in 


the  erection  of  the  plant.     A  good  showing,  we  call  it,  for  times  like 
these." 

These  things  I  mention  because  in  this  day  and  time  nothing  estab- 
lishes a  thing  quite  so  accurately  as  bold,  cold  facts,  and  they  show 
that  parents  and  guardians  all  over  the  country  have  learned  of  the 
par  excellence  of  Bingham  School,  and  are  encouraging  its  builder  with 
an  extended  patronage. 

FAIRNESS  AND  JUSTNESS  OF  THE  DISCIPLINE. 

One  of  the  things  that  one  hears  oftenest  from  the  boys  at  Bingham 
School  is  the  absolute  fairness  of  the  discipline.  On  this  point  I 
will  let  Major  Bingham  speak  for  himself,  as  he  does  in  the  School 
Catalogue: 

Article  15  is  as  follows: 

RIGHT  OF  APPEAL. 

"  On  every  Saturday  night,  at  a  prescribed  signal,  the  Faculty  assem- 
bles in  the  Superintendent's  office  to  hear  any  appeal  by  any  cadet 
who  thinks  he  has  any  complaint  to  make  against  any  teacher,  cadet 
officer  or  comrade,  or  against  any  other  person,  or  for  any  cause  what- 
soever. A  patient  hearing  is  given  to  every  appellant,  who  states  his 
cause  of  complaint  fully,  and  sustains  it  by  any  testimony  he  may  be 
able  to  bring  up.  In  this  way  errors  are  corrected,  hasty  judgment  is 
prevented,  avoidable  causes  of  complaint  are  removed,  and  fairness, 
uniformity  and  justice  are  secured." 

I  cannot  do  better,  in  speaking  of  this  admirable  feature  of  the 
School's  methods,  than  to  quote  in  his  own.  words  the  impression 
which  this  policy  of  fairness  and  overhanded  justice  made  on  Lieu- 
tenant J.  B  Batchelor,  United  States  Army,  who  had  recently  been 
subject  to  the  methods  of  West  Point.  Says  Lieutenant  Batchelor, 
over  his  signature: 

"  The  discipline  cannot  be  too  highly  praised.  Uniform  and  mod- 
erate, it  presses  on  all  alike;  and  while  it  is  never  excessive,  it  never 
relaxes.  It  is  applied  directy  to  the  student  body  by  means  of  the 
military  organization — the  best  means  for  that  purpose.  The  object 
of  the  School  is  to  make,  not  soldiers,  but  cultivated  Christian  gentle- 
men; yet  the  foundation  of  this  character  can  be  laid  only  in  self- 
control,  which  is  discipline,  and  no  machinery  has  yet  been  found,  or 
can  be  found,  for  the  moderate,  even  and  constant  application  of 
discipline  equal  to  the  military  organization,  distinctly  subordinated, 
as  in  this  case,  to  the  main  work  of  the  school." 

"The  discipline  at  Bingham's,"  continues  Lieutenant  Batchelor, 
"is  eminently  fair.  Presided  over  by  a  man  whose  patience  has  never 
yet  found  its  limit,  and  who  desires  to  make  his  pupils  feel  by  the 
treatment  they  receive  that  they  are  considered  young  gentlemen,  any 
boy  in  the  School  who  thinks  that  he  has  received  less  than  justice, 
from  any  one,  though  that  one  be  the  Superintendent  himself,  is  sure 
of  a  fair  hearing  and  of  a  decision  on  the  merits  of  the  case,  there 
being  an  'appeal  meeting'  each  week  to  hear  all  complaints.  This, 
I  think,  is  one  of  the  most  important  features  of  the  School.  It 
springs  from  no  weakness  of  discipline  or  desire  to  substitute  conces- 
sion for  authority.  On  the  contrary,  it  shows  the  strength  of  the 
discipline  which  can  afford  thus  to  examine  and  review  its  own  acts, 
and  if  those  acts  are  erroneous,  to  reverse  them;  and  it  forces  the 
pupil  to  reflect  that  where  he  is  so  fairly  heard  and  so  fairly  judged,  the 
punishment  awarded  must  be  founded,  not  on  caprice,  but  on  justice, 
and  this  makes  obedience  to  discipline  in  the  School  almost  in- 
stinctive." 


10 

THE  WAY  TRUTH  IS  EMPHASIZED. 

Another  marked  feature  in  the  School's  methods  of  character 
building  which  cannot  be  too  highly  commended,  is  the  way  in  which 
the  truth  is  emphasized.  On  this  head  I  cannot  do  better  than  to  let 
the  School  speak  for  itself,  as  it  does  in  its  Catalogue,  as  follows: 

"Art.  14. — The  TRUTH  is  the  basis  of  every  noble  character;  and 
as  education  is,  more  than  anything  else,  the  development  of  char- 
acter, telling  the  truth  is  the  basis  of  the  discipline  at  Bingham 
School.  We  therefore  always  expect  the  truth  from  every  cadet,  and 
if  any  cadet  makes  an  official  statement  which  is  not  the  truth,  his 
comrades,  after  a  full  and  fair  investigation,  ask  his  removal  from  the 
School  as  being  unworthy  to  associate  with  them." 

Every  boy  who  enters  the  School  does  so  with  the  distinct  under- 
standing that  "  his  word  must  be  his  bond,"  and  with  this  undestand- 
ing,  he  makes  a  promise  on  his  honor  as  a  gentleman  that  he  will 
abstain  from  three  things,  namely,  from  drinking  or  being  in  a  bar- 
room, from  having  deadly  weapons,  and  from  hazing.  This  promise 
has  been  violated  but  four  times  in  twenty  years,  and  in  each  case  the 
offenders  were  promptly  arraigned,  convicted  by  their  comrades,  and 
expelled  by  the  Faculty  at  the  instance  of  the  cadet  body  for  lying. 
Thus  the  honor  method  has  stopped  at  Bingham's  these  three  great 
evils,  drinking,  hazing  and  having  deadly  weapons,  and  when  once 
established  it  prevents  cheating  on  examinations,  and  other  kindred 
forms  of  dodging  responsibility.  This  idea  of  one  meeting  his  re- 
sponsibilities face  to  face  pervades  the  life  of  the  student  body  at 
Bingham's  more,  perhaps,  than  it  has  pervaded  a  student  body  since 
the  days  of  Dr.  Arnold  at  Rugby,  and  richly  entitles  Bingham's  to  its 
honorable  sobriquet  of  "the  American  Rugby."  I  cannot  do  better 
on  this  point  than  to,  give  in  Lieutenant  Batchelor's,  words  the  im- 
pression which  this  high  sense  of  honor  at  Bingham's  made  on  him, 
when  Professor  of  Military  Science  and  Tactics  in  the  School  ten  years 
ago,  and  which  shines  with  untarnished  lustre  still.  His  words  are 
as  follows: 

"The  pupils  of  the  School  represent  the  best  people  of  the  various 
sections  of  the  country  from  which  they  come.  It  is  important  that 
the  early  associates  of  young  men  should  be  chosen  from  those  whose 
acquaintance  will  be  desirable  in  after  years,  and  especially  impor- 
tant that  a  boy  should  grow  up  among  companions  whose  standard  of 
thought  is  high  and  pure.  I  say  with  confidence  that  NOWHERE 
IN  THE  WORLD  CAN  A  BODY  OF  YOUNG  MEN  BE  FOUND 
AMONG  WHOM  THIS  STANDARD  IS  HIGHER  AND  PURER 
than  at  Bingham's.  Its  pupils,  like  all  boys,  have  their  boyish  faults 
and  boyish  failings;  but  they  never  fail  to  answer  any  call  made  upon 
them  by  the  self-respect  and  honor  of  a  gentleman.  Some  black  sheep 
may  come  in,  but  they  never  taint  the  mass,  and  are  soon  gotten  rid 
of  by  an  almost  unconscious  rejection  on  the  part  of  the  cadets  them- 
selves. No  boy  who  is  not  brave,  frank,  true  and  decent  can  stand 
the  atmosphere  of  Bingham  School." 

THE  FIFTH  BINGHAM. 

I  was  also  very  much  gratified  to  meet  Capt.  Robert  Worth  Bing- 
ham, who  has  been  connected  with  the  School  for  four  years,  and  to 
learn  that  this  fifth  Bingham  of  the  fourth  generation  is  so  excellently 
qualified  in  every  way  to  perpetuate  the  School,  and  not  only  to  main- 
tain, but  to  increase  its  renown,  when  the  waning  nineteenth  shall 
have  passed  into  the  waxing  twentieth  century  and  beyond. 


11 

FREE  CADETSHIPS. 

Another  very  gratifying  thing  is  that  the  School  is  about  to  resume 
the  gratuitious  work  for  which  it  has  been  noted  for  a  hundred  years, 
and  which  it  was  obliged  to  suspend  while  establishing  itself  in  its 
new  home.  It  is  offering  eleven  (n)  free  cadetships  to  North  Caro- 
lina boys,  to  be  won  by  a  competitive  examination,  like  cadetships  at 
West  Point,  Annapolis  and  other  great  schools.  The  scholarships 
cover  tuition,  board,  lodging  and  lights,  for  which  others  pay  $250  a 
year,  and  are  to  be  awarded  by  the  two  Senators  for  the  State-at-large, 
and  by  each  Congressman  for  his  own  district,  to  the  young  man  who 
stands  the  best  competitive  examination  on  the  15th  of  August  at  such 
place  and  before  such  committee  as  Senator  or  Congressman  may 
select,  or  on  the  26th  of  August  at  the  School  in  case  no  selection 
should  be  made  in  any  district  on  the  15th.  In  this  way  the  School 
will  do  North  Carolina  good  by  giving  an  education  to  a  few  picked 
young  men;  and  will  get  good  itself  by  the  presence  of  these  picked 
young  men  in  its  classes,  and  by  giving  the  North  Carolina  public  the 
opportunity  to  know  more  of  its  grand  educational  plant  and  facili- 
ties, which  other  States  have  got  the  proper  perspective  on  already, 
as  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  School  has  eighty  (80)  pupils  on  its  roll 
this  year  from  outside  North  Carolina,  while  North  Carolina,  with  her 
proverbial  lack  of  enthusiasm  for  the  best  work  of  her  own  best  sons, 
has  but  a  score  of  pupils  in  what  is  not  only  her  own  most  famous 
School,  but  the  most  famous  School  in  the  South  in  the  opinions  of 
the  competent  and  distinguished  judges  whom  I  have  quoted,  and  for 
which  opinions  they  alone  are  responsible,  and  not  I.  And  it  is  the 
only  private  school  in  the  South,  or  in  the  United  States  as  far  as  I 
know,  which  puts  a  free  scholarship  at  the  disposal  of  each  member 
of  the  Congressional  delegation  of"  the  State  in  which  it  is  located. 

THE  HIGHSREPUTE  OF  THE  BINGHAM  BOYS  IN  ASHEVILLE. 

I  was  very  much  struck,  too,  with  the  fine  manly  appearance  and 
gentlemanly  bearing  of  the  boys,  and  with  the  very  high  repute  which 
they  have  established  for  themselves  in  the  city  of  Asheville.  One 
hears  the  remark  often  from  the  leading  citizens  that  no  Bingham 
boy,  while  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  School,  has  been  seen  in  a 
bar-room  in  Asheville,  nor  has  any  one  of  them  ever  been  known  to 
act  on  the  streets  in  any  way  unbecoming  a  gentleman.  Such  a  record 
would  be  impossible  without  excellent  discipline  by  the  School  and 
without  excellent  blood  and  breeding  in  the  boys  themselves. 

THE  CHARGES  ARE  REASONABLE. 

It  is  generally  understood  that  Bingham's  disclaims  the  idea  of 
being  a  Cheap  John  concern.  "We  appeal,"  says  the  Catalogue,  "to 
the  smaller  but  higher  class  of  parents  who  choose  for  their  sons  what 
is  best,  rather  than  to  the  larger  class  who  take  the  cheapest;" 
and  while  it  has  always  commanded  somewhat  higher  tuition  fees 
than  any  other  school  for  boys  in  North  Carolina,  its  charges  are  not 
above  those  of  other  schools  of  like  grade  and  character  in  the  South, 
and  are  below  those  of  similar  schools  at  the  North  and  abroad.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  the  charges  are  reasonable  enough — $150  per  session 
pay  school  expenses,  which  include  tuition,  board,  lodging,  fuel, 
lights,  military  and  gymnastic  instruction,  medical  attention  if  needed, 
and  books,  the  charge  being  at  the  rate  of  not  quite  $1.13  per  day. 
Now,  I  submit  that  if  a  parent  or  guardian  thinks  that  a  boy  can  be 
well  taught,  well  fed,  well  housed,  well  warmed,  well  lighted,  well 
instructed  in  military  and  gymnastic  exercises,  well  doctored  if  he 


12 


needs  it,  and  supplied  with  books,  for  any  less  than  $1.13  per  day, 
such  a  parent  or  guardian  hardly  realizes  the  needs  of  a  boy's  body 
and  mind. 

THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  SCHOOL. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  such  a  School,  with  such  a  great  past,  with  a 
greater  present,  and  with  a  future  greater  than  its  past  and  its  present 
combined,  should  attract  pupils  this  year  from  eighteen  States  of  the 
Union,  extending  from  Ohio  and  Wisconsin  on  the  north  to  Florida 
and  Texas  on  the  south,  from  the  United  States  Army  and  should 
reach  outside  of  the  United  States  to  Mexico;  nor  is  it  to  be  wondered 
at  that  it  actually  brings  to  North  Carolina  for  education  probably 
more  young  men  from  outside  of  the  State  than  all  the  other  colleges 
and  private  schools  for  boys  in  the  State  combined.  The  only  won- 
der is  that,  under  the  pressure  of  calamity  by  fire  and  the  consequent 
change  of  location,  of  persistent  rumors  of  temporary  and  perma- 
nent suspension,  under  the  pressure,  too,  of  the  long-continued 
financial  troubles  which  have  swamped  so  many  business  enterprises 
all  over  the  country,  the  wonder  is  that,  under  all  these  untoward 
circumstances,  the  Bingham  School  has  risen,  Phcenix  like,  so  grandly 
from  its  ashes,  and  that  it  should  have  equipped  itself  so  grandly  for 
another  century  of  pre-eminence  among  Southern  schools.  The  gen- 
eral public  outside  of  North  Carolina  has  already  given  its  most  un- 
qualified approval  by  sending  eighty  (8oj  pupils  to  the  School  from 
eighteen  States  during  the  current  year;  and  every  North  Carolinian 
who  has  inspected  it  is  enthusiastic- in  his  concurrence  with  this 
judgment  of  prominent  people  from  Ohio  and  Wisconsin  on  the 
north,  through  Florida  and  Texas  to  Mexico  on  the  south. 

F.  B.  ARENDELL. 


Area  of  Patronage  of  Bingham  School. 


THIRTY  NINE  localities  were  represented  between  the  84th  and 
104th  years,  inclusive,  as  follows  : 


Alabama, 

Arizona, 

Arkansas, 

California, 

Connecticut, 

District  of  Columbii 

Florida, 

Georgia, 

Illinois, 

Indiana, 

Kansas, 


Brazil,  in 


Kentucky, 

Louisiana, 

Massachusetts, 

Maryland, 

Michigan, 

Mississippi, 

Missouri, 

New  York, 

New  Hampshire, 

New  Jersey, 

North  Carolina, 


Ohio, 

Pennsylvania, 

South  Carolina, 

Tennessee, 

Texas, 

Vermont, 

Virginia, 

West  Virginia, 

Wisconsin, 

United  States  Army 

and  Mexico, 


NORTH  AMERICA 
SOUTH  AMERICA 


England, 
Scotland, 


Germany, 
Greece,  in 


EUROPE 


Siam,  in 


ASIA 


